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About this book
This ambitious book by one of the most original and provocative thinkers in science studies offers a sophisticated new understanding of the nature of scientific, mathematical, and engineering practice and the production of scientific knowledge.
Andrew Pickering offers a new approach to the unpredictable nature of change in science, taking into account the extraordinary number of factorsāsocial, technological, conceptual, and naturalāthat interact to affect the creation of scientific knowledge. In his view, machines, instruments, facts, theories, conceptual and mathematical structures, disciplined practices, and human beings are in constantly shifting relationships with one anotherā"mangled" together in unforeseeable ways that are shaped by the contingencies of culture, time, and place.
Situating material as well as human agency in their larger cultural context, Pickering uses case studies to show how this picture of the open, changeable nature of science advances a richer understanding of scientific work both past and present. Pickering examines in detail the building of the bubble chamber in particle physics, the search for the quark, the construction of the quarternion system in mathematics, and the introduction of computer-controlled machine tools in industry. He uses these examples to address the most basic elements of scientific practiceāthe development of experimental apparatus, the production of facts, the development of theory, and the interrelation of machines and social organization.
Andrew Pickering offers a new approach to the unpredictable nature of change in science, taking into account the extraordinary number of factorsāsocial, technological, conceptual, and naturalāthat interact to affect the creation of scientific knowledge. In his view, machines, instruments, facts, theories, conceptual and mathematical structures, disciplined practices, and human beings are in constantly shifting relationships with one anotherā"mangled" together in unforeseeable ways that are shaped by the contingencies of culture, time, and place.
Situating material as well as human agency in their larger cultural context, Pickering uses case studies to show how this picture of the open, changeable nature of science advances a richer understanding of scientific work both past and present. Pickering examines in detail the building of the bubble chamber in particle physics, the search for the quark, the construction of the quarternion system in mathematics, and the introduction of computer-controlled machine tools in industry. He uses these examples to address the most basic elements of scientific practiceāthe development of experimental apparatus, the production of facts, the development of theory, and the interrelation of machines and social organization.
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Yes, you can access The Mangle of Practice by Andrew Pickering in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Biological Sciences & Science History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Publisher
University of Chicago PressYear
2010Print ISBN
9780226668031, 9780226668024eBook ISBN
9780226668253Table of contents
- Contents
- Preface
- 1. The Mangle of Practice
- Part One: Instantiations
- Part Two: Articulations
- References
- Index